If Ribbeck Law Chartered filed the first court action in connection with the missing Malaysia Airlines jet just to get its name out there, the plan apparently worked.

But the attention might not be the kind the Chicago-based law firm had envisioned.

In a stern ruling made public Monday, a Cook County judge threw out two petitions filed by Ribbeck Law last week and threatened to impose sanctions against the firm if it again filed what the court described as improper, baseless motions.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the family of one of the alleged crash victims named in the petitions confirmed to the Tribune that Ribbeck Law — whose attorneys have been accused in the past of questionable tactics in the wake of aviation disasters — had not been authorized by the family to go to court in the first place.

The Tribune has also learned that one of the firm's founding partners, Manuel von Ribbeck, was found in contempt of court less than two weeks ago for failing to comply with a judge's order in a 2012 paternity suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

The jet crash petitions, announced with much fanfare last week by Ribbeck Law attorney Monica Kelly, named Malaysia Airlines and Chicago-based Boeing as defendants and sought to preserve evidence and identify anyone involved in the Boeing 777's manufacture and upkeep.

The legal action purportedly came on behalf of the father of a Indonesian passenger on Flight 370 as well as the wife of a member of the missing plane's crew. Though the flight's disappearance remains a mystery, the filings by Ribbeck Law said that the Beijing-bound airliner had experienced a catastrophic fire or mechanical failure before plunging into the southern Indian Ocean, killing all 239 on board.

Kelly told reporters in Asia that her firm expected to eventually represent half of the passengers and crew in court.

In dismissing the two filings, Judge Kathy Flanagan said in separate rulings that the law allows such filings only when the identity of potential defendants isn't known. Flanagan, who oversees airline-related suits filed in the Cook County court, said the proper procedure would be to sue the defendants first and obtain evidence during the normal process of discovery.

Flanagan noted Ribbeck Law had filed virtually identical petitions last year after separate fatal airplane crashes in San Francisco and Laos, and that she had dismissed both for the same reason.

“Despite these orders, the same law firm has proceeded, yet again, with the filing of the (Malaysia crash) petition, knowing full well there is no basis to do so,” Flanagan wrote.

The judge said she “will impose sanctions” if Ribbeck Law continues to make such filings.

In an email Monday night, Kelly, who is von Ribbeck's sister, defended the firm's filings and said she planned to appeal Flanagan's decision. “We had no problems with other judges in the past,” she wrote in the email. “So, either the judge does not understand the rule or we don't understand it.”

Mervin Mateo, another Ribbeck Law attorney, said in a phone conversation Monday that the firm still intends to file lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines and Boeing “as soon as the wreckage (of Flight 370) is found.” Mateo said he could not comment on the details of the judge's ruling because he hadn't seen it. He did not call back after the Tribune emailed him a copy.

The first petition, filed March 25, named as a plaintiff Januari Siregar, who was described as the father of missing passenger Firman Chandra Siregar, 24.

But the plaintiff has turned out to be an uncle at odds with the rest of the family, and a spokesman for Siregar's real father told the Tribune in an email Monday that he had not authorized Ribbeck Law to take legal action in Chicago.

When informed that the filings had been dismissed, the spokesman, Clemens Kusuma, said family members did not wish to comment further, as their focus remained on the ongoing search for signs of the jet that disappeared more than three weeks ago.

“We're still waiting for the result from the search and rescue team. Crossing our fingers and hoping for the best,” Kusuma wrote in an email.

Meanwhile, as the fallout from Ribbeck Law's efforts in court continued to make headlines, the firm's self-described “global headquarters” in Lake Point Tower in the 500 block of North Lake Shore Drive was dark and apparently nonoperational.

While the name “Ribbeck” was affixed to the building's exterior, the furniture inside was arranged haphazardly and there were no telephones, computer equipment or other electronics visible. Employees of a bank located next door said Ribbeck Law started renting the space more than a year ago but that there had been little activity there since. Mateo said the headquarters were being renovated.

According to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, von Ribbeck has been licensed to practice in Illinois since 1995 and has never been disciplined. His biography on the firm's website said his “legal strategies earn record-breaking settlements as well as successful trial outcomes typically litigated against savvy corporate defendants.”

On March 20, von Ribbeck was found in civil contempt of court after he failed to set up an escrow account for child support as ordered by the judge overseeing a 2009 paternity suit filed against him in Cook County, court records show.

In the order, Judge Lionel Jean Baptiste said von Ribbeck must show up in court April 14 and pay $17,000, or a warrant could be issued for his arrest, court records show.

According to the court records, von Ribbeck has said he's been living in Peru while caring for his elderly father.